The first time Barack Obama met George W Bush, he noted that the president, after shaking hands with the new senator from Illinois and other guests, asked an aide to squirt a dollop of anti-bacterial sanitiser into the palm of his hand.

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President-Elect Obama has the chance to size up the Oval Office alongside Mr BushPhoto: REUTERS

President George W Bush and first lady Laura Bush greet President-Elect Barack Obama and wife Michelle as they arrive for a visit at the White HousePhoto: REUTERS

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Hundreds of people gather at the White House fence hoping to catch a glimpse of the Obamas' arrival Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

By Alex Spillius in Washington

12:40AM GMT 11 Nov 2008

Monday's meeting probably involved less disinfectant. Indeed, the hand shakes were warm, the smiles were broad and the visit ran over its scheduled time.

From the moment the Obamas stepped out of their black limousine at the South Portico entrance, the preternaturally confident president-elect looked thoroughly at home in his new home-cum-office, a 132-room mansion in the heart of the capital.

He has visited several times before as a senator, but yesterday was his first look inside the Oval Office on the West Wing, where the two leaders talked for more than an hour.

As they walked along to the Rose Garden, they chatted, pausing only for a quick wave and smile for the cameras. Bush swaggered in his Texan fashion, arms akimbo. Mr Obama loped in a fashion so nonchalant the White House has never seen in a leader before.

In a photograph released of the meeting between First Lady Laura Bush and Michelle Obama in the second floor private quarters, the next First Lady was leaning forward, looking excited, even ambitious. Like her husband, she brims with self-assurance.